AnimeCons.comAnimeCons.com is your complete guide to anime conventions in the US, Canada, and beyond.http://animecons.com/
en-usCopyright 2015, Adequate.comAnimeCons.comhttp://media.animecons.com/coverart/ACcom-144x144.pnghttp://animecons.com/
Origa, singer from Ghost in the Shell, passes awayhttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1480/Origa_singer_from_Ghost_in_the_Shell_passes_away
Sun, 18 Jan 2015 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3413/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1480/Origa_singer_from_Ghost_in_the_Shell_passes_awayGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex has passed away at age 44. Source: Anime News Network]]>reporting that vocalist Origa has passed away from lung cancer at age 44.

Origa was born October 12, 1970 as Ol'ga Vital'evna Yakovleva in Russia. After graduating music school in 1990, she visited Japan in 1991 and contracted with the ROAD&SKY Organization two years later. She participated in projects with various artists including the Radio Japan Series and as part of the chorus for the Kobe earthquake disaster charity single.

She released seven solo albums, two mini-albums, and three singles. Origa first performed with Yoko Kanno for Turn A Gundam, singing Gabriela Robin's "Moon" with the Gey's AX chorus. Most notably, she performed on the soundtracks to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Both the first and second season's theme songs used Origa's vocals as well as the opening and ending themes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society.

Anime South withdraws guest inviteshttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1479/Anime_South_withdraws_guest_invites
Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3406/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1479/Anime_South_withdraws_guest_invitesAnime South, a convention scheduled to be held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida this November, has announced on their web site that they have withdrawn invitations for numerous guests who had previously been announced.

The full statement reads as follows:

"Anime South has regrettably withdrawn invitations to several well-known and highly respected individuals within the cosplay community. Though it would be preferable to honor these unauthorized invitations, Anime South is financially unable to commit.

"Though these invitations were unsanctioned by Anime South management, we realize that through their withdrawal we are damaging relationships and trust within the community. We have an enormous professional desire to welcome these individuals as guests, however it is not economically feasible at this time. We ask for your understanding in this unfortunate and difficult matter.

"We hope that you will continue to support and encourage these exceptionally talented cosplayers. . We look forward to the growth of Anime South and hope to properly welcome anyone we have had to disinvite as highlighted guests in the future."

Ten Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2014http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1478/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2014
Mon, 05 Jan 2015 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3405/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1478/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2014
To understand this list, you need to first understand the different ways that a convention can count its attendance:

The most common method, one used by most non-anime conventions and trade shows, is a "turnstile" attendance count. Under this method, if there are 1,000 people at a three day convention each day, they would report their attendance as 3,000...as if each of those 1,000 people passed through a turnstile once per day. Although some anime conventions report turnstile numbers, they are often offered in addition to one of the following two counting methods. We do not list known turnstile counts on this site as we believe they are misleading and disingenuous.

Another method is to count each person who was issued a badge. This is often referred to as "total attendance" or a "warm body count". This will include attendees, staff, press, vendors, guests, and anyone else who was wearing a convention badge. If they attended multiple days, they just get counted once.

The final method commonly used to report attendance is a paid attendance count. This simply counts the number of people who paid for a badge. Unlike the warm body count, it doesn't include staff, guests, press, or others with a badge...unless they paid for it. This method also only counts people once even if they're attending multiple days.

All the attendance figures we present in this report and on AnimeCons.com have been provided by convention staffs themselves. They have either been announced on the convention's own web sites, reported to this site, or one of our site's staff have reported back a number announced at the convention's closing ceremonies. None of these numbers are guesses by AnimeCons.com staff. Where attendance is marked as "approximately" signifies that the number reported by the convention is likely rounded and not an exact count.

Our annual list also only consists of conventions with a primary focus on anime. This means that multi-genre conventions are not included. We also do not include conventions such as comic cons or sci-fi cons that have anime programming. To include those in this list would be impossible due to the number of those conventions in existence, the unavailability of attendance numbers for many of them, and the vast differences in counting methods. Anime conventions that share admission with non-anime conventions (such as comic or steampunk conventions) are also not included on this list.

Beyond these ten, we start to get into a large number of conventions with attendance counts very close to one another and a number of conventions that would likely fall into this range but have not reported numbers. However, we do know that three conventions that narrowly missed the list are Youmacon (approximately 16,300 paid attendees), San Japan (14,686 warm bodies), and MomoCon (14,600 warm bodies).

Notably missing from the list this year is Katsucon. The convention was held in February 2014, but had not reported numbers on their web site or social media. They did not respond to requests for attendance numbers, so they could not be included in this list.UPDATE: Since this article was originally published, Katsucon has reported an attendance of 12,970.

Also no longer on the list for the first time since we've been tracking the ten largest anime cons is FanimeCon. The San Jose, California convention is not eligible to be on the list because it shared registrations with a steampunk event called Clockwork Alchemy. Since there is no way to distinguish the people attending the anime event from the people attending the steampunk event, it would not be fair to include it in the above list. A similar situation arose in 2010 when New York Anime Festival merged with New York Comic Con and we could therefore no longer include New York Anime Festival on the list.

As always, we remind you that these are merely the largest conventions and are not necessarily the best. There are many, many small conventions out there that are a lot of fun and we encourage you to find the conventions near you and try them out.

Causes of PCD: Post-Con Depression and Steps to Recoveryhttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1476/Causes_of_PCD_Post-Con_Depression_and_Steps_to_Recovery
Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3366/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1476/Causes_of_PCD_Post-Con_Depression_and_Steps_to_Recovery
Do you have a loss of appetite or insomnia?
Are you unhappy about returning to work or school?
Are you looking at photos of the convention and wishing you took more?
Are you thinking back on the highlights of the past weekend?
Are you wishing that the convention was still going on?

You may be suffering from PCD...Post-Con Depression.

Post-Con Depression is a very real mental condition brought on by the special demands that a convention can put on your body. During the convention, your body uses serotonin. After the convention, the lower levels of serotonin in your body can cause depression until your body has time to produce more. This can take several days.

Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter which is biochemically derived from tryptophan. Serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and the central nervous system and is popularly thought to be a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.

Approximately 90% of the human body's total serotonin is located in the enterochromaffin cells in the GI tract, where it is used to regulate intestinal movements. The remainder is synthesized in the central nervous system, where it has various functions including the regulation of mood, appetite, and sleep. Serotonin also has some cognitive functions, including memory and learning. Modulation of serotonin at synapses is thought to be a major action of several classes of pharmacological antidepressants.

After the convention, you may be physically exhausted after walking around and standing in lines all day. If you didn't feel it at the convention, it may be catching up with you after the con.

Did you get enough sleep each night? If you were up late partying and waking up early to put on costumes or get to panels, probably not. The disruption of your normal sleep schedule can cause depression and it can take time to return to a normal sleep schedule. This problem can be compounded if you traveled across time zones to get to the convention.

Eating fast food or skipping meals and having generous amounts of alcohol may not have been the best idea when you were at the con. Now that the convention is over, your body is letting you know it didn't like that. The consumption of alcohol can contribute to Post-Con Depression rather significantly since alcohol itself is a depressant.

"Con Plague", or the exposure to foreign illness, can be a factor. Thousands of people from hundreds or thousands of miles away are all converging in on you. Some of them are likely coming to the convention with some sort of illness that they've now spread to everyone through coughing, high-fives on the escalator, hugs, or various other means. If they're recovering, currently ill, or just recently infected, you're still at risk. Go to the convention with the assumption that someone there is carrying the flu and take precautions by washing your hands, showering, keeping your hands off potentially contaminated surfaces, and avoiding unnecessary physical contact with strangers.

How can you recover?

Figure out when and where your next con is. There are conventions every weekend. Check FanCons.com and find some near you. This will give you something to look forward to. If it's six months away, that's still better than having to wait a year!

Start working on your next costumes. You know you'll procrastinate until the last minute, so why not get started while the excitement of the con is fresh in your mind?

Get together with friends for a game night. It's a good time to talk about the fun stuff from the convention and start making plans for the next con.

Drink lots of juice and eat healthy foods. You've been exposed to thousands of people and their germs and you probably didn't eat well at the con either. Fight off that con plague before it sets in!

Get some exercise. Go walk around the block, go for a run, or do some push-ups. It will be good for your body and mind. If you're suffering from insomnia, it can also be a good way to tire yourself out before bed.

Relax! Sit back on your couch and see what your TiVo recorded while you were gone. Maybe load up Netflix and watch that show everyone at the con was talking about. Then get to bed early and catch up on sleep.

You may not be able to avoid Post-Con Depression, but hopefully these tips will help you recover faster.

Donations Requested to Assist Sarah "Sully" Sullivanhttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1475/Donations_Requested_to_Assist_Sarah_Sully_Sullivan
Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3361/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1475/Donations_Requested_to_Assist_Sarah_Sully_SullivanSarah "Sully" Sullivan revealed on her Facebook page today that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. A fund has been created to help her with expenses.]]>Sarah Sullivan, "Sully" to her friends, is well known among anime and pop culture convention planners and attendees as a convention staffer and former Convention Manager for Funimation. Today, she revealed on her Facebook page that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Treavor Hodgson has set up a site on which people can make donations to help her cover any medical bills not covered by insurance, various deductibles, and living expenses so that she can take time away from work and focus on beating this.

The fund has a goal of $10,000. It has already raised over $2,000 in just one hour.

Top Ten Depictions of Conventions in Movies and Televisionhttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1471/Top_Ten_Depictions_of_Conventions_in_Movies_and_Television
Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3294/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1471/Top_Ten_Depictions_of_Conventions_in_Movies_and_Television10 - The Big Bang Theory - "The Bakersfield Expedition"Aired January 10, 2013
The guys head to a comic book convention in Bakersfield dressed as Star Trek: Next Generation characters while their girls investigate the world of comic books. After Raj suggests a stop at Vasquez Rocks for photos, their car is stolen and they have to start hitchhiking in costume. Although they never actually get to the convention, the anticipation of the convention as well as the road trip experience really hits home.

9 - Supernatural - "The Real Ghostbusters"Aired November 12, 2009
Sam and Dean are tricked into attending a Supernatural convention where fans dress up as the brothers. But the entertaining event is soon disrupted by a ghost. Seeing the fans treat Sam and Dean as fellow cosplayers is fun as is the fans' discovery that what happens on the show is based on real stories. This sort of putting the show within its own fictional universe has also been done on shows like Deep Space Nine, Sliders, and Stargate SG-1 and it's still fun.

8 - Community - "Conventions of Space and Time"Aired February 21, 2013
In support of Troy and Abed, the study group heads to InspecTiCon, the annual Inspector Spacetime convention. Trouble begins when the group meets up with Abed's "pen-pal" whose shared passion for Inspector Spacetime comes between Abed and Troy. Meanwhile, Annie leaves the convention floor to enjoy the luxuries of the hotel while Jeff relaxes in the bar with Lauren, an Inspector Spacetime fan. If you've ever been to a convention with a group that includes someone who is there to meet up with an online friend, someone who just wants to take advantage of the hotel amenities, and someone who's not actually interested in the con and just wants to hang out at the bar, then you'll probably find parts of this episode very familiar.

7 - The Guild (season 5)Premiered July 26, 2011
The guild travels to a gaming convention where they deal with hotel issues, conflicting desires to see different things at the con, bump into a number of celebrities, and ultimately make their mark on the costume contest. If you've been to a convention of significant size, you've probably seen some of the celebrities featured in this season of The Guild. Look for cameos from people like Richard Hatch, Kevin Sorbo, Grant Imahara, Nathan Fillion, Colin Ferguson, Brent Spiner, Eliza Dushku, Rick Fox, Stan Lee, and many more!

6 - FanboysPremiered February 6, 2009Fanboys is the story of a group of Star Wars fanboys who are determined to infiltrate Skywalker Ranch and steal the rough cut of Episode I. It features a bunch of cameo appearances by actors from Star Wars and other films. Eventually, the fanboys must meet up with a contact at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas to get the information they need to break into Skywalker Ranch.

5 - Chasing AmyPremiered April 4, 1997Chasing Amy is a romantic comedy by Kevin Smith about sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. The movie begins at the fictional Manhattan Comic Con where Holden and Banky are promoting their new "Bluntman and Chronic" comic. It's here, after a panel room is cleared out, that Holden meets Alyssa Jones, a fellow comic artist, for the first time.

4 - iCarly - "iStart a Fan War"Aired November 19, 2010
Carly, Sam, and Freddie finally get to attend Webicon and take Spencer with them. However when they arrive, Spencer meets an old nemesis played by Jack Black. Meanwhile, Carly and Sam's panel erupts into a fight over which of the two girls are dating Freddie. Clearly based on San Diego Comic Con, Webicon has a big dealers room, panels, plenty of costumes, and is packed. A lot of the content of the episode is actually in-jokes, from the "Creddie" and "Seddie" fans fighting over which of the girls Freddie should be with down to Spencer's addiction to an RPG which is similar to Jerry Trainor's love for playing World of Warcraft. Cosplayers will be amused and frustrated by Jack Black's nitpicking of Spencer's costume having the jewels in the wrong order.

3 - Futurama - "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"Aired April 21, 2002
Fry learns that Star Trek had been banned on Earth centuries earlier and goes on a quest with Leonard Nimoy's Head to find the last remaining episodes. He encounters the re-embodied cast of the original TV show who are prisoners on the planet of a very devoted fan. On that planet, he forces the Star Trek cast and the Planet Express crew to participate in a Star Trek convention until the end of time. This episode is great because it reunited the entire cast of The Original Series (except DeForest Kelley, who had passed away in 1999, and James Doohan, whose agent said "No way!"). It has been called one of the best Futurama episodes as well as one of the best TV episodes of 2002.

2 - Castle - "The Final Frontier"Aired November 5, 2012
When a body is found at a sci-fi convention, Castle and Beckett are warped into the heart of fandom -- a world of egotistic celebrities, diehard costumed fans and enough drama for two galaxies. For convention fans, this episode's first few seconds will grab you with a cameo appearance of the episode's director, Jonathan Frakes. A lot of Castle fans were also fans of Nathan Fillion in Firefly and this episode certainly delivers for them as well. There's cosplay from several of the main cast too, so even if you've never seen Castle before, it's worth seeking out this episode as soon as it's on Netflix or DVD.

1 - Galaxy QuestPremiered December 25, 1999
The film parodies the television series Star Trek and its fandom. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell as the cast of a defunct television series called Galaxy Quest. You'll also see Justin Long, the "I'm a Mac" guy, in his feature film debut as a fanboy. An alien race asks the actors for help, believing the show's adventures were real. The fans, the actors, the fake convention, it's all so well done and such a fun movie for anyone in fandom who can laugh at themselves. This movie is a cult classic and that's why we've picked it as number one on our list. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now.

So that's our top ten list. There's plenty of other conventions seen in other shows and movies. There's CSI, The Simpsons, Freakazoid, Dexter's Laboratory, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and a whole lot more. What shows and movies do you think belong on this list? Let us know!

Ten Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2013http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1474/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2013
Mon, 06 Jan 2014 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3233/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1474/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2013
We've been keeping a tally of the ten largest conventions on AnimeCons.com and in our AnimeCons TV podcast for ten years now! Back in 2004, we reported that the largest anime con at the time (Otakon 2003) had 17,685 people. This year, that figure would only be tenth on the list!

To understand this list, you need to first understand the different ways that a convention can count its attendance:

The most common method, one used by most non-anime conventions and trade shows, is a "turnstile" attendance count. Under this method, if there are 1,000 people at a three day convention each day, they would report their attendance as 3,000...as if each of those 1,000 people passed through a turnstile once per day. Although some anime conventions report turnstile numbers, they are often offered in addition to one of the following two counting methods. We do not list known turnstile counts on this site as we believe they are misleading and disingenuous.

Another method is to count each person who was issued a badge. This is often referred to as "total attendance" or a "warm body count". This will include attendees, staff, press, vendors, guests, and anyone else who was wearing a convention badge. If they attended multiple days, they just get counted once.

The final method commonly used to report attendance is a paid attendance count. This simply counts the number of people who paid for a badge. Unlike the warm body count, it doesn't include staff, guests, press, or others with a badge...unless they paid for it. This method also only counts people once even if they're attending multiple days.

All the attendance figures we present in this report and on AnimeCons.com have been provided by convention staffs themselves. They have either been announced on the convention's own web sites, reported to this site, or one of our site's staff have reported back a number announced at the convention's closing ceremonies. Where attendance is marked as "estimated" signifies that the number is likely rounded and not exact.

Our annual list also only consists of conventions with a primary focus on anime. This means that multi-genre conventions are not included. We also do not include conventions such as comic cons or sci-fi cons that have anime programming. To include those in this list would be impossible due to the number of those conventions in existence, the unavailability of attendance numbers for many of them, and the vast differences in counting methods.

Beyond these ten, we start to get into a large number of conventions with attendance counts very close to one another. Narrowly missing the list are Youmacon (14,496 total attendance) and Otakuthon (13,357 total attendance). MomoCon (12,200 total attendance), San Japan (11,077 total attendance), Katsucon (10,686 total attendance), and AnimeNEXT (10,283 paid attendance) round out the known conventions reporting over 10,000 attendees. In the event other conventions come forward with attendance counts not previously reported, we will include them in an update at the bottom of this article.

As always, we remind you that these are merely the largest conventions and are not necessarily the best. There are many, many small conventions out there that are a lot of fun and we encourage you to find the conventions near you and check them out.

If you want to compare the growth of conventions over the last ten years, here are some handy links to our annual reports (either written or as reported in our podcast):

Convention Attendee Holiday Gift Guidehttp://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1473/Convention_Attendee_Holiday_Gift_Guide
Fri, 13 Dec 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/3215/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1473/Convention_Attendee_Holiday_Gift_GuideAnimeCons TV has put together a list of gift suggestions for your friends and family members who may be regular convention attendees. You may even use this list as your own guide when people ask what you would like as a present for a holiday or birthday.

The most obvious idea is to buy a badge for a convention. A lot of conventions will let you purchase a badge for someone else and so this is a perfect time to do that. If you know someone who is planning to go to a convention but hasn't bought their badge yet, get a badge for yourself and someone else. Not only do they get a great gift, but you get a companion for the convention! You could even make up a certificate on your own to make the presentation more meaningful than just a printed e-mail receipt.

Gift cards are another obvious choice. A gas gift card, airline gift card, or hotel gift card would help cover some of the expenses of getting to and staying at the convention. You may also be able to find a gift card for a restaurant located near the convention so they can have a nice meal there. You can find gift cards for a wide variety of these places at your local supermarket.

It's important to keep hydrated at conventions and beverages at hotel and convention center prices can be priced rather high. A collapsable water bottle wouldn't take up much room in luggage, but could be filled up in a bathroom after arrival and carried around the convention.

What about luggage? A bag or suitcase could be a good gift if your friend's bags are wearing a bit thin or are never big enough to carry everything they need. Do they have too many large bags and need a smaller one? Maybe they could use a special kind of bag like one for suits or dresses to keep their cosplay nice while traveling.

In this digital age, everyone has a cell phone, but between photos, texting, apps, and social media, the battery can run down fast when you're at a convention. An external battery can be a very welcome gift for your high-tech friends. We recommend the Mophie for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone which can recharge most USB devices. It comes in a variety of sizes (and prices) which can recharge more often and larger devices.

Of course, how are they running down the batteries on these devices? Games! While waiting in line, who hasn't killed time with a game on their phone or handheld device? Gift cards for their phone's app store could be a good idea or maybe a game for their Nintendo DS or PS Vita. As an alternative to video games, you could try some analog favorites among con attendees such as Apples to Apples, Fluxx, Channel A, or Cards Against Humanity.

Our own Elizabeth recommends a luggage scale. You can use this to make sure your luggage isn't overweight before you get to the airport. (Check with your airline to see their limits.) This can save you overweight baggage fees or, at the very least, the embarrassment of having to re-pack your bags at the ticket counter. (Although some normal bathroom scales may also work for this purpose.)

Lanyards are an option for an inexpensive gift. Not every convention gives one out with badges, but you could provide a better option even for the ones that do. You might be able to find one with images from their favorite show or movie or video game or maybe one with a nice badge holder.

Cosplayer Gift Ideas

For cosplayers, not only is everything above still an option, but there are some other things they may enjoy...

The most obvious idea for them is a gift card to a fabric store, online wig shop, or cosmetic store. If they do a lot of props, they may enjoy a gift card from a home improvement store.

Art books can be handy reference for characters. They often have many detailed drawings of characters and can be incredibly useful when designing a costume.

Figures can also be helpful as a reference because they're in 3D and you can hold them and rotate them to any view you desire. When creating a costume, this is absolutely invaluable. Plus, the figure is a nice reminder of the character and the costume to keep on a shelf.

Garment bags are wonderful for cosplayers so that they can store the costume together, keep it safe, and make it harder to lose pieces. When traveling, all they have to do is grab the bag and go!

Comic Convention Attendees

Attendees to comic conventions are likely to be comic collectors in some way. Comic sleeves would help keep their individual comic issues in mint condition. There are also storage books which allow comics to be stored together safely.

If your friend regularly shops in artists' alley, they may like to have a portfolio of some kind to display their purchases. If there are any they're particularly proud of, maybe you could get them a frame for it. Often people plan to frame it "eventually" and you can help push that process forward.

Artists' Alley Sellers

In order to help your friends who sell in artists' alley look their best, you could get a nice tablecloth to cover their artists' alley table. (Most tables are 8'x2.5', but check with your local convention.) They may also like a large banner to hang in front of or behind their table. We've ordered our FanCons.com, AnimeCons.com, and AnimeCons TV banners through PSPrint.com.

Anime or Fan Music Video Creators

For people that create AMVs (or FMVs), they could always use more source material. DVDs and Blu-Ray discs of some hot new shows would certainly be welcome.

Once they've decided to start working on their hot new video project, they'll need a place to store their clips. Why not get an external hard drive? Really, who couldn't use more disk space?

Photographers

People who wander conventions taking photos of cosplayers never have enough of two things: memory cards and batteries. Find out what kind of camera they use and you should easily be able to find more memory cards or batteries.

Convention Staff

Staff, particularly those in management positions, often have many papers they have to keep organized and have to keep with them at the convention. Look for a nice portfolio to hold a notepad, miscellaneous papers, a schedule, pens, and other miscellaneous documents. Ideally, it should zip or snap shut so that things don't go flying if it gets dropped. If they use an iPad or other tablet, you may even be able to find one that could fit that as well!

Convention staff usually do a lot of walking. A LOT! A pedometer can be fun to track the amount of walking and compare with other staff members. It can even come in handy in the off season for regular fitness tracking.

Your Ideas!

Do you have ideas? Leave them in the forums...]]>

Otakon to move to Washington DC in 2017http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1472/Otakon_to_move_to_Washington_DC_in_2017
Sun, 11 Aug 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2950/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1472/Otakon_to_move_to_Washington_DC_in_2017Otakon, which celebrated its 20th year this past weekend, has announced that they will be moving to Washington, DC in 2017 for a period of at least five years.

Although it was first held in Pennsylvania in 1994, Otakon has been held in Baltimore every summer since 1999 and is one of Baltimore's few city-wide events with an attendance of over 32,000 people. In their press release, Otakon states "The Baltimore Convention Center has not aged gracefully and there are proposals to replace both the BCC and the Arena over the next five years. Any upgrades would require at least a temporary move and would result in disruptive changes in our facilities regardless of the final outcome."

Bids were evaluated from both Baltimore and Washington, DC. In June, the organization's bidding members selected DC as the best option. Otakon 2017 will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Specific dates have yet to be announced.]]>

My real first convention experiencehttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1470/My_real_first_convention_experience
Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1470/My_real_first_convention_experienceOtakon 2004, Elizabeth's nerd experience began several years before that.]]>
Nintendo was a big part of my childhood growing up. I still remember when my parents first got an NES for my brothers and me. I was five years old, and I vividly recall the first time I played Super Mario Bros. Every week we went to the local video store and rented a different game, plus we had dozens of games at home that we played over and over. My grandmother also had an NES, and we would bring our games over to her house to play when she babysat for us. That is, if she wasn't already playing Vegas Dream.

Since we were big Nintendo fans, obviously we had a subscription to Nintendo Power. It must have been in one of those issues that we learned about a traveling show that Nintendo Power was doing. I honestly don't remember how I learned about the event, or being excited for the event, or anything like that. Give me a break, I was seven. But I do remember a lot about attending it.

It was set up much similar to PAX, except on a much smaller scale. There were dozens and dozens of televisions set up, each with an NES hooked up to it. I remember playing Wizards and Warriors, Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and walking through an entire room set up with Game Boys. My memory is a little hazy on this part, but I think there were people dressed up as Link and Zelda as well. Or maybe my cosplayer memory wishes that was true.

Exactly when this event was is kind of hazy. It was sometime around 1989 or 1990. I thought that one of the big things about it was the Game Boy had just come out, or was going to be released soon. And although I'm pretty sure it was the first time I played SMB 3, I thought it had already been released at that point. But, SMB 3 was released six months after the Game Boy. So far, searching Google has turned up no history of this event.

This event most likely started my love of attending conventions. Being in a room and seeing dozens video games, lots of other fans having lots of fun, and the newest technology was a great experience. Even though I was only seven years old.

In less than two weeks, I will be attending one of my favorite conventions, PAX East, for the fourth time. I'm sure as I walk in and see hundreds of video games, thousands of other fans having lots of fun, and the newest technology, it will remind me of my first "convention" experience ever.]]>

How did it take this long for a con to get sued for selling bootlegs?http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1469/How_did_it_take_this_long_for_a_con_to_get_sued_for_selling_bootlegs
Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2849/http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1469/How_did_it_take_this_long_for_a_con_to_get_sued_for_selling_bootlegsFunimation is suing a convention over counterfeit items. If you haven't, the basic story is that Funimation has filed documents against Miller Isaiah Timmons and ten others associated with his businesses for repeated sales of counterfeit and unauthorized merchandise at the Animeland Wasabi convention.

Animeland Wasabi was held just this past weekend and is one of several conventions and businesses run by Timmons. Funimation says its requests to stop the sale of the counterfeit merchandise sold at the convention were ignored.

Also of note is that Tom Croom of WasabiCon and Green Mustard Entertainment (which is not related to Animeland Wasabi) issued a cease and deist notice to Timmons in 2012 and Croom is discussing "filing a complaint and taking further legal action".

People have seen counterfeit, bootleg, and other knock-off items at conventions for decades. There has always been a fear that the relevant authorities would show up and shut everything down if bootlegs were found, but there are no reports of this ever actually happening. Still, many conventions have policed their own dealers' rooms out of a sense of doing the right thing and supporting the industry if not out of fear of being shut down. However, unscrupulous or ill-informed dealers and conventions have gotten away with it for so long that it's odd that it has taken over 20 years of anime conventions before this sort of legal action has happened.

Over the years, I had heard people talking about how various government agencies (including the FBI, US Customs, or police) never bothered investigating bootlegs at conventions for all sorts of reasons. The rumors were that anime cons were "too small to bother with" or "the government offices are closed on weekends during the convention". There were also rumors about a dealer or two at some convention somewhere that was hauled out in handcuffs for selling bootlegs, but those rumors always turned out to either be false or the result of something else unrelated to bootlegs.

So what ultimately had to happen, you wonder?

In a statement, Funimation's legal department said:

Sales of unlicensed and counterfeit goods happen at almost every convention. Sometimes convention management is extremely proactive in preventing this. Other times, we have to get involved and be rather demanding about compliance. With Animeland, even the fans and dealers were reporting infringement to convention staff, but the head of the convention refused to do anything whatsoever to remedy the problem. That's where we have to draw the line

It appears that Animeland became the target due to repeatedly hearing about infringing merchandise and Animeland ignoring the requests. As the first convention known to be the subject of legal action by any anime company, it seems likely that Funimation would like to make an example out of Animeland. In fact, I believe that just by filing legal documents against the convention, Funimation is going to make a lot of conventions that may have previously turned a blind eye toward bootlegs reconsider their position and actually start to pay attention to what their dealers are selling.

I get asked this question sometimes when I'm buying fabric. When it's near Halloween, it's easy to say it's for a costume. But what about the other eleven months of the year? Usually, I say it's for a dress. Because that's easier than saying that I'm a cosplayer and having to deal with the follow up.

You see it on the faces of people who find themselves near convention centers during an anime con. You see them point at the "freaks" and whisper about them. About how we're "weird" and "losers" and should get back to our parents' basements. It's easy to know that a friend won't think of you differently when you tell them about your hobby. No true friend would do that, and if they do they're not really your friend (cliche, but true). But what about acquaintances, networking contacts, clients, and distant relatives?

I know, I know, I could face it like the adult I am and just tell people what I do. But think about it - when you're outside the amazing world that is conventions and costumes, it's not the easiest thing in the world to explain to people that I like to dress up like comic book and cartoon characters. Even reading that last sentence sounds silly.

Most people I know and interact with on a regular basis don't know what I do for a hobby. I have a specific filter set up on my Facebook account so only certain people can see when I post about conventions or cosplay. Outside of my convention friends, I'd say that maybe 10% of my friends know that I do this, and that's only because they're into nerdy things like Doctor Who or Star Wars and its easy to explain to them. As for the other 90%, I know that none of them will think less of me if I told them. My coworkers know, but I work at a company with a lot of nerdy people so it was easy to bring up. My husband's coworkers don't know and almost all of his friends don't know.

I was at a party several months ago, and my friend who was hosting introduced me to someone who does costuming for theater group he is in. My friend doesn't know that I do costumes, and all I wanted to do was talk about costuming with his friend. But I was too nervous to bring it up. I was afraid that she would turn her nose up at me about it, although I doubt she would have.

Why should I be apprehensive about this? I mean, lookatsomeofthestuffI'vecreated. I look at what my skills used to be, and what they are now, and I'm proud of myself for what I am able to do. There has yet to be a time where I tell someone I know what I do and they think less of me. And at the same time, whenever I show them what I have created, they are always impressed at my skills. But then I think back to the looks and sneers I've gotten from strangers while attending conventions. The people who lean out their window and yell "freaks" while con attendees are hanging around outside. The hotel employees who treat you like one of the herd and can't wait till you leave.

Then I remind myself that those jerks are the minority. I've had many awesome conversations with people who are genuinely curious about the conventions. I was surprised once when the shuttle driver I had from BWI to my hotel at Otakon was a big Bleach fan. I've seen hotel staff members dress up while conventions were in town.

Will I answering people truthfully when they ask me what I'm making when I'm at the cutting counter? Or when people I just met ask me what I like to do for fun? Probably not. But will I start being more honest with people I do know that I go to conventions and do cosplay? Maybe. I might start with getting rid of my "Geek-Friendly" Facebook filter and posting some pictures of me.]]>

Costume Overloadhttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1466/Costume_Overload
Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1466/Costume_OverloadArisia and Katsucon was enough time to make three costumes. Elizabeth is an idiot.]]>Katsucon 2013, I had planned to make Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth and Princess Pluto from Sailor Moon. Both costumes are part of groups: Shiva and Gale will be joining me as Umi and Hikaru, and I'll be part of an entire Sailor Moon princess group. I am super excited for both, especially the MKR costumes because we've been planning to do these for years and it's never come about until now.

I started buying materials last fall, and I already had much of what I needed for Fuu because I had been planning to make it for such a long time. Then I heard about a group of Sakizou art costumers who were getting together at Katsucon. I had wanted to do the Coffee design forever, and decided that I could add that to Katsucon no problem. I already had most of the materials at that point.

However I didn't start working on any of these costumes until after Arisia in mid-January, because I made two new costumes for that con. Which was two weeks after my wedding, and I had no time to work on costumes in the weeks leading up to that.

I mapped out everything I needed to do, and got to work a few days after getting back from Arisia. Then thing started taking longer than I thought. And I discovered more things that I needed to do to finish the costumes. But I was on good place.

Then real life kicked in. I cut my thumb with a kitchen knife and needed stitches. I had parties come up that I needed to attend. But I had the weekend before Katsucon completely clear, and I was going to go to my parents house to work on things with my awesome mom.

However, a huge wrench was thrown into that. The Thursday before that weekend, my mom went into the hospital. Then we got hit with a massive snow storm with two feet of snow, and road travel was banned for a 24 hour period. I hunkered down and worked on stuff during the storm, but without the help of my mom, I fell further and further behind. But she's doing better, which is way more important than any costume.

I now have just two nights left to work on things. Fuu is almost done, I just need to add some sashes and style the wig (which I'm going to do in the hotel room). Coffee is at a point where I can wear it, but if I have the time I'd love to add more details. Pluto is my big project tonight, finishing the lining, hemming, and adding the sheer pieces. Then I'm done! Except for packing. Which I haven't started yet.

I regret taking on so much in such a short amount of time, but I am excited to wear these new costumes. Sometimes I feel like because I got into this hobby at an older age than most other cosplayers, I have to do as much as I can before I start getting older and my choices become limited. But I also need to keep myself sane and make sure I'm not overrun, so I can relax and make sure I have time for other things, like reading or doing laundry.

Now I have to keep reminding myself that I'm only allowed to make one new costume for my next con, PAX East. However, there are three that I want to make and I can't decide which one...]]>

The 2013 Convention Season is Underwayhttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1465/The_2013_Convention_Season_is_Underway
Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1465/The_2013_Convention_Season_is_UnderwayArisia, held at the Westin Waterfront in Boston. It was my sixth time attending, and I love that my convention season starts with this con. It's a sci-fi/fantasy convention, but it has lots of other influences as well. I like to consider it one of those "all things geeky" cons, which are my favorites.

Once again, the AnimeCons.com crew and I got a suite and hosted a couple of parties, which is always fun. Because the masquerade was moved to Sunday night, we held our closed party on Saturday. Unfortunately that meant we had to compete with all the other big name parties, but we had a solid group. We keep learning new things to have more awesome parties. We're going to apply to have parties again next year, so hopefully we'll see you there!

I had a blast entering the masquerade again. Even though our original idea didn't happen, my friend and I used costumes we made last fall and ended up with an honorable mention for craftsmanship. There were some absolutely amazing entries and I love masquerades that are focused on the costumes, and not a talent show. It was also nice to have something that caused me to miss that horrible, horrible AFC Championship game. Thank goodness hockey is back now.

Costuming wise, I made two new costumes - Belle from Once Upon a Time and Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones. I also re-wore Zatanna from DC Comics, Hawkeye from The Avengers evening gown, and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. I also packed Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter and Queen Emeraldas, but ended up not wearing them. That's one thing I like about driving to conventions - you can pack as much as your car holds and you don't have to worry about weight limits.

The biggest thing that's happening to anime conventions is the influence and insurgence of non-Japanese fandoms: Doctor Who, My Little Pony, and Homestuck being the biggest ones. There's also Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Battlestar Galactica, X-Files, and dozens more. Some attendees have been fans of these things for a long time, some are just getting into them now, but you definitely see them everywhere at anime conventions. Anime conventions are at a head with these other fandoms. There's nothing wrong with these interests and people are welcome wear or celebrate whatever they like. The question is, should anime conventions continue to focus solely on Japanese art, culture, and media?

That's really a question for another blog, but if you're interested in other fandoms besides anime and Japanese video games, check out your local sci-fi/fantasy convention. Many have been around for a long time, such a Boskone, held in Boston, which will be holding its 50th convention next month. You may feel young there, as many of their attendees are getting older, but they really do love to see new people getting into fandom, attending the conventions they love, and keeping everything going.

Those are the reasons why I love Arisia. I have some fantastic friends who I only see at that convention. They've been around the convention scene for years and years (some for decades) and have tons of awesome stories, and they're a blast to hang out with. So if you want to expand your nerd horizons, or if you maybe are feeling like an AARP member at anime cons, check out other types of cons. FanCons.com can definitely help you out there!

2013 is off to a good start. Will I get past my ridiculous 13 cons from last year? Probably not, but it will be up there, especially as I find out more and more about local sci-fi/fantasy and comic book conventions in the New England area. If you see me at a con this year, please say hello!]]>

Ten Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2012http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1464/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2012
Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:00:00 ESThttp://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2809/http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1464/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2012
In the last 12 months, there were an amazing 449 conventions listed on our site featuring anime programming. That's up from the 396 we listed for 2011 meaning that there was, on average, about one new convention every week!

In terms of attendance at conventions, AnimeCons.com has continued collecting attendance figures from anime conventions around the world and we list them on this web site. All numbers reported here and elsewhere on this site were reported by the conventions themselves. We do not take numbers from Wikipedia unless they are accompanied by a link to a reliable source. (However, since we get most of our numbers direct from the conventions' staffs, Wikipedia often cites AnimeCons.com as the reliable source for its data.)

It's interesting to note the large gaps between the attendance numbers of Otakon and Anime Central and then between FanimeCon and Anime Weekend Atlanta.

Although we had mentioned in AnimeCons TV that we did not hear from AnimeNEXT, they did report 9,850 attendees shortly before the episode was posted. We still have not received numbers from Anime North** or Ohayocon*, which are both candidates for the list.

Ohayocon has since reported 12,500 estimated warm bodies (12,198 paid attendees) and would be ranked 11th. Anime North also reported numbers after the initial publishing of this list and they are listed above.

Canadian anime fans should not worry since Otakuthon and its 11,000 attendees is also quite impressive. Also worth noting are Youmacon with a count of 12,156, Anime Maturi reported 10,422 attendees, and San Japan and its 9,464 attendees.

Last year, MomoCon made our list, but their attendance actually dropped to 8,600 in 2012 because they changed from a free convention to a pay convention. However, 8,600 is still quite an impressive attendance count.

The above list only includes conventions that are primarily anime conventions. This means you won't see large conventions like San Diego Comic-Con or Dragon*Con included. Also, we only list conventions for which we have attendance numbers and put the list together using numbers available as of press time. (...although some conventions seem to wait until we publish the list every year and then send in corrections.)

* UPDATE: Since this article was originally published, Ohayocon reported 12,198 paid attendees with an estimated warm body count of 12,500 in 2012. This is up from their estimated warm body count of 11,000 (and 10,610 paid attendees) in 2011. The list above has been updated to reflect this change.

** UPDATE 2: We heard from Anime North about 24 hours after publishing this article. They reported 22,385 paid attendees and the list above has been modified to reflect this number.

*** UPDATE 3: In early 2014, we were informed that Katsucon's attendance was actually 9,142 and that the number reported earlier was due to a paperwork failure.